Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT) Rating Lowered to “Strong Sell” at Zacks Research

Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Separately, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Novanta from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Novanta has an average rating of “Sell” and an average price target of $133.00.

Novanta Trading Down 1.5%

NASDAQ:NOVT opened at $119.35 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $114.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $117.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.27 billion, a PE ratio of 81.19 and a beta of 1.59. Novanta has a 12 month low of $98.27 and a 12 month high of $157.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.54.

Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The technology company reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $247.84 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $245.95 million. Novanta had a return on equity of 14.53% and a net margin of 5.50%.The company’s revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.85 earnings per share. Novanta has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.240-3.300 EPS and its Q4 2025 guidance at 0.870-0.930 EPS. Research analysts predict that Novanta will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novanta announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, September 18th that allows the company to buyback $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the technology company to repurchase up to 4.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Novanta

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL bought a new stake in shares of Novanta in the third quarter worth $5,404,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Novanta by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 753,111 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $75,424,000 after acquiring an additional 30,674 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new position in Novanta during the 3rd quarter worth $386,000. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in shares of Novanta in the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Novanta in the 3rd quarter valued at about $81,000. 98.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Novanta

Novanta, Inc (NASDAQ: NOVT) is a global technology company that designs and manufactures precision components, subsystems and software used in advanced photonics and motion control applications. The company serves customers in the medical device and advanced industrial markets, supplying critical technologies for diagnostics and therapeutic systems, semiconductor and electronics manufacturing, and scientific instrumentation. Novanta’s product portfolio includes laser control modules, optics, beam delivery systems, high-precision motors, actuators, stages, and fluidics solutions designed to meet stringent accuracy and reliability requirements.

Novanta’s Photonics segment delivers laser and energy delivery components that enable minimally invasive surgical procedures and diagnostic imaging.